After repeated hiccups and stalls, it looks like AOL is running out of chances to transition into an advertising powerhouse. The company saw online ad revenue drop 6 percent during the third quarter, while all of its chief rivals experienced gains.

Google's ad revenue rose 28 percent in the quarter, while Microsoft saw a 15 percent rise. Even the struggling Yahoo, which has been mentioned in several merger rumors with AOL, experienced a 1.2 percent revenue gain.

This was AOL's first decline since the internet giant decided to move away from internet access in 2004, according to an Associated Press report. Ad revenue was flat for the first two quarters of 2008 and AOL expected to see some gains in the third quarter after the difficult integration of several companies into its Platform-A umbrella.

AOL officials blamed the loss of an exclusive deal with the Apollo Group, which was responsible for $55 million in revenue. The loss of Apollo could weight down revenue in the fourth quarter and early next year as well.